Apple has a reputation problem.
In the first quarter of 2017, Apple (AAPL) landed in 20th place in the Reputation Institute’s Global RepTrak 100, a ranking that measures public perception towards major companies around the world. During the same period last year, Apple ranked 10th in the study. In 2011, Apple was a close second in the Reputation Institute’s ranking behind search giant Google (GOOGL).
Apple ranked atop Coins2Day‘s 2017 list of Most Admired Companies, topping Google and all other competitors.
The Reputation Institute, an organization that provides consulting services to corporate communications and marketing executives, conducts its study by surveying consumers and other stakeholders about their opinions on major companies. The 2017 study includes 170,000 responses from people who were asked to judge companies on their products or services, innovation, workplace, corporate governance, citizenship, leadership, and performance. All of the companies in the list are judged on a scale of 0 to 100. A score of 80 or higher is considered an “excellent” reputation. Those companies that fall in the 70s have a “strong” reputation, and anything in the 60s represents an “average” reputation.
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In 2017, Apple scored 74.94 in the study, down 1.7 points compared to the prior year. While the Reputation Institute didn’t dig into Apple’s rating, it did tell CNET in a statement this week that Apple is viewed favorably for its “products and corporate performance,” but the company’s rating was hurt by poor performance in its “citizenship” category, which asks respondents whether a company “has a positive influence on society.”
Apple, which did not respond to a Coins2Day request for comment on the study, found itself far behind some of its chief competitors in the technology market. Google, for instance, landed in the fifth spot with a score of 78.22. Sony (SNE) was in seventh place with 77.74 points. Microsoft (MSFT) is in 11th place with a score of 77.12.
While Apple’s decline was notable, it paled in comparison to Samsung’s (SSNLF) drop. The Korean conglomerate suffered a four-point drop year-over-year to 70.98 and is in 70th place in the survey. Samsung last year was in 17th place.
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While the Reputation Institute didn’t say why Samsung’s score fell so steeply this year, it’s likely due at least in part to the company’s Galaxy Note 7, which last year was discontinued after users reported overheating and explosion troubles. Samsung has since apologized and said that the problem was caused by battery flaws, but the Reputation Institute’s findings suggest the damage to Samsung’s reputation has been done.
Reputation Institute’s study looks at companies across industries. This year’s most reputable company is Rolex with a score of 80.38. Lego and The Walt Disney Company (DIS) round out the top three with scores of 79.46 and 79.19, respectively.
